Sewage pumping stations and their uses

Sewage pumping stations and their uses

A sewage pump station is a paramount tool in disposing of waste. This waste is detrimental to the environment, and so it’s vital to deal with it appropriately.

The Process

A sewage pump station otherwise referred to as a lift station, is used for dealing with raw sewage. This reaches the station via an underground gravity pipeline system. This system is collected of pipes which are placed at such an angle so that the sewage can flow unidirectionally under gravity.

The sewage goes into an underground pit, referred to as a wet well, and here it is stored. To stop the pit from overflowing, it contains apparatus which can monitor the height or level of the sewage inside it. If it rises above a certain level, a pump starts to push it out into a dedicated pipe system coined a sewer force main. From there it goes into a gravity manhole. The cycle continues until the sewage reaches its ultimate destination, that is, a sewage treatment plant.

Uses

Briefly, a sewage pump station is used to pump sewage from a lower area or location to a higher region. They can be applied simply because they’re the inexpensive option. Examples are in situations where it makes economic sense to pump it over a ridge and then let it flow logically due to gravity into a sewage treatment plant or by uplifting the sewage high to move through a sewage treatment plant again using gravity. Otherwise, they are valuable in cases where a hydraulic head would not be adequate or enough.

The Setup

Most of the time, sewage pumping plants can be placed together as an accumulated package. The essential part needed is a sewage treatment receiving well, which is otherwise referred to as the wet well. This comes with a junction box, lift pumps, piping containing valves, and a control panel which is armed with an alarm system.

Out-of-date sewage pump stations have a dry well and a wet well, typically, both these wells are in the same area or location and are then divided internally. The primary concern about these is that if a pipe or pump is to leak the sewage, it might easily get into the dry well resulting in flooding. This is the reason why the electric motors tend to be on the surface within pump homes to protect or rather keep them from the elements.

Currently, a submersible type of pump station is more familiar. The benefits are that they’re usually less costly and do not need much pump maintenance. They are also less of an eyesore as they do not tend to have massive structures that can be seen above the ground. Similarly, they carry much less health and safety risks.

Sewage treatment is of vital importance. Such plants ensure that wastewater is treated properly before the water is deemed safe to be released into the environment.